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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24777106">Brothers in Arms</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/merpprem/pseuds/merpprem'>merpprem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Harry Potter's Attempts at Botching Tom Riddle's Love Confessions [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU - Harry's Era, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Harry Potter &amp; Tom Riddle Attend Hogwarts Together, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, M/M, Prefect Tom Riddle, Quidditch Captain Harry Potter, Scheming Weasley Twins, Slightly Jealous Tom Riddle, The Weasley Twins Are The Best, The Weasley Twins Ship It, The Weasleys and Hermione are Harry's Family, Tom Riddle Needs a Hug, Tom is Weasley Twins Approved, preslash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 08:40:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,152</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24777106</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/merpprem/pseuds/merpprem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Weasley twins are far sneakier than most give them credit for, but Tom wasn't going to complain if their antics helped push Harry in the right direction. You know, towards him.</p><p>On Harry's end, though, he had every right to be suspicious of them when their latest prank ends up surprisingly tame. But he's not gonna complain about that, either.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter/Tom Riddle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Harry Potter's Attempts at Botching Tom Riddle's Love Confessions [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1745488</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>637</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Brothers in Arms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello again! I've got a looot of things to say before this particular installment, so I've numbered them to make it a lot easier to read. If you'd like updates on this series, you'd might like to go through them! c:</p><p>1. I don't consider Brothers in Arms a good enough piece to include in the series, but... I finished it anyway, oh no. For now, I'm considering it as a bonus fic, because in here Harry doesn't actually botch up anything and... well, stuff. I'll think it over if I want to keep this fic up, because It's one of those things that I try to write when I'm kind of in a rut, and I'm almost certain that I should've just given up on it HAHAHA but I'll reread this tomorrow since it's 5am and I should probably sleep.</p><p>2. To those who have been with me since the first part of the series, a quick recap on the previous fics to those who need it because Tom and Harry dancing around is making even my unorganized fanfiction writer head spin:<br/>a. Tom tries to spur Harry's interest by saving him in the pitch, and Harry thinks Tom's got a crush on him but shouldn't<br/>b. Tom tries to give Harry a lovely gift but Harry forces it to only become a friendly gift<br/>c. Tom and Harry duel and Tom is friendzoned HAHAHAHA<br/>d. Tom tries to make it work in the friendzone and takes care of Harry from afar, but Harry figures it out and robbed Tom of any future ammunition, oh and Harry managed to convince himself that Tom didn't have feelings for him since the start wow what a hot mess to work with</p><p>3. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for so much of your support! &lt;3 And to those who have read about the global issues that I've mentioned beforehand, a huuuuge thank you as well. I'll be sure to reply to each and every one of your messages if it'll be the last thing I do cuz I enjoy it so much! *crosses arms stubbornly* It makes me so happy reading what you all think about it, it really makes writing so much fun! &lt;3 I'm grateful for you all!</p><p>Announcements #4 and #5 at the end notes cuz I don't want to bore you guys hehe :"&gt; Thank you once again!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Do you really think it'll work on someone like Tom Riddle?"</p><p>"Oh, please, it would work <em>because </em>he's Tom Riddle! That jealous prick could hardly resist the chance to receive a hug from our adorable little Harry."</p><p>"Still, though, I'm worried about Harry. I've only seen him hug Mum!"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm worried about him too. With any luck, he'll also be more comfortable around us after, y'know, this. I'm more worried if Harry would buy this load of bull, to be honest."</p><p>"Please, we aren't logical people, Fred. No one will suspect a thing. And Harry's almost as thick as our Potions textbook."</p><p>"Fair point. Oh, there he is, let's get this show on the road now, shall we?"</p><p>"With pleasure."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Harry—”</p><p>“—mate—”</p><p>“Good day to thee!” A pair of nearly if not totally identical arms were thrown around his neck, nearly crushing Harry while knocking the wind out of him. It wasn’t that Harry was surprised to see them, really, the twins’ boisterous laughter and the exaggerated shushing sounds they hissed at each other as they pretended to “sneak up on Harry” were one hell of a clue in. It was just that most of the Weasley boys had been born with the recessive gene that allowed for their tall imposing height while Harry unfortunately <em> wasn’t </em>, therefore his scrawny figure was no match for their combined masses.</p><p>Harry briefly wondered how in the bloody hell did his brain manage to remember biology lessons from primary school when he could barely remember his next class sometimes. He immediately stopped wondering after having a sudden war flashback of Hermione giving him a very impromptu and very lengthy university lecture about human genetics when the Gryffindor had caught him muttering about how it was “bloody mental how I got stuck with this wild as fuck Potter hair.” Harry inwardly shivered at the traumatic memory of his friend’s thirty minute tirade, almost physically able to hear the diplomatic tone and unfamiliar gibberish that just gave Harry a massive headache.</p><p>“Hello to you both,” he greeted warily. The twins’ mischievous grins, while most of the time wickedly handsome and a sign of incoming comedy relief, now unsettled Harry greatly. He chuckled nervously, unsure if Fred and George were here to pester their innocent, wide-eyed junior or to take revenge on their merciless captain who tore through their muscles <em> and </em> their ears the other day. </p><p>“Why so tense, Ickle Harrykins? You don’t think we’re—”</p><p>“—still mad about that absolutely <em> killer </em> circuit, the one that—”</p><p>“—you’ve made us run through for, oh, I can’t recall, was it—”</p><p>“—it was maybe, maybe two, three times, or perhaps, George—”</p><p>“—yes, Fred, it was more accurately, mayhaps for about—”</p><p>“Three long and rainy hours?” </p><p>Harry gulped, a bead of sweat sliding near his brow. “Hah, funny thing, that. Wasn’t it a beautiful memory to be cherished forever? The memory of us as kids, playing on our brooms and bonding in the rain as one team?” Harry tested the Beaters’ grip, attempting to slide out and panicking when he found that he couldn’t slither out of their grasp. He mentally slapped himself. Of fucking <em> course </em> he can’t, because throughout the whole season, Harry had been shoving his personalized training regimes down their throats. He had tailored the twins’ program to target grip strength, arm muscle and core development, all of which were now being taken advantage of by the gleeful demons flanking him on both sides. A part of him would be terribly disappointed if he had been able to easily shake them off, but the bigger part of him was now currently panicking because <em> he couldn’t shake them off. </em></p><p>Wasn’t it just delightful when the things he loved turned on him so easily?</p><p>Harry knew he sounded a bit dramatic in his head, but when the twins bared their canines at him like that, he couldn’t help but feel that his reactions were not exaggerated by a single bit. Everyone knew that their Cheshire cat grins meant that their target was and will be in deep shit with them around. In about neck-high shit. </p><p>Fred mockingly looked up at the ceiling in contemplation as they steered him towards a wide hallway, one that did <em> not </em> lead to the Gryffindor Common Room. “Oh, Harry. Dear, <em> dear </em>Harry.”</p><p>George tsked loudly beside him, squishing him even tighter in between them. “We still haven’t forgotten how <em> horribly </em>you’ve treated us.”</p><p>“Us?” Fred dramatically brought a hand up to his chest, letting out a mild gasp that quickly activated Harry’s fight or flight response. “We’re practically your older brothers, Harry! We let you into our home!”</p><p>“We feed you and we treat you like one of our very own!”</p><p>“To think that you would ever raise a hand on us—” Harry snorted. The number of times that he'd been pranked by them had carefully gone unmentioned.</p><p>“Just. Like. That!” The twins finished together, making one of the best kicked puppy expressions that Harry had ever witnessed. He almost regretted his callous training programs. Almost. </p><p>Harry scowled. “My job is to make sure we’re in tip-top shape for the next match. Merlin, it’s like the both of you forgot that we’re up against the Puffs soon.” He pointedly ignored Fred’s fake choke and his disbelieving muttering of, “The <em> ‘Puffs?” </em></p><p>“Harry, Harry, you’re abusing your power as Captain and killing us all just to sate your sadism. Don’t think we don’t know that,” George said sweetly.</p><p>Well, if Harry was gonna be really, <em> really </em> honest, he <em> was </em> well aware that he was abusing his power and murdering the crap out of the team for no particular reason. </p><p>“Well, how about it, George? I say we lynch him.”</p><p>
  <em> Run the fuck away, Potter.  </em>
</p><p>He shivered as they continued to walk down the hallway, which was worriedly only a pinch familiar to him. He couldn’t remember where it led to, but judging by the rapidly dropping temperature, they were probably nearing an abandoned secret dungeon where they would cut him up into bacon strips and make him into nibblers for the Giant Squid. </p><p>Still in their impossibly hard grip, Harry licked his lips. “I’m personally not a real fan of that idea.”</p><p>“Hmm, neither are we to be perfectly—”</p><p>“—handsomely, indubitably honest.”</p><p>Eh? “What, for real?” Confusion aside, Harry was also pretty sure the twins made that last word up. </p><p>“I think I’ve thought of a real good alternative punishment for him, Forge, one that doesn’t require blood on our hands.”</p><p>“What say ye, Gred? Are we perhaps thinking of the exact same thing?”</p><p>“I believe we are.” they jerked before slowing their pace in the middle of the hallway, making Harry stumble on his own robes. “On the count of three.” </p><p>“One.”</p><p>“Two.”</p><p>“Three.”</p><p>“We curse him to sing Celestina Warbeck every mealtime!” George yelled at the same time as Fred, who shouted something that horrifyingly sounded like, “We make him give free hugs!” </p><p>Harry blinked. The twins snapped their heads towards each other and glared at their complement in frightening synchronization. </p><p>“Oi, what’s your deal? What kind of lame punishment is that?” George spoke first, his voice uncharacteristically icy. Fred narrowed his eyes even further.</p><p>“Excuse you, unoriginal and less handsome version of me—” Harry mentally snorted, the twins looked exactly the same, except George had this tiny, <em> tiny </em> mole on the right side of his neck that only people with a certain height like Harry’s could see. </p><p>No, Harry wasn’t short. Not at all. He was just so tall that he was a little below eye-level with George’s collarbone, that’s all. Harry was practically a giant among giants.</p><p>“You and I <em> both </em> know that there can’t be anything much worse than <em> Harry </em> hugging <em> people.”  </em></p><p>Harry bristled. “Hey! I don’t know if that was supposed to be offensive, but you said it in an offensive tone so I’m gonna be offended!” </p><p>Fred and George ignored him. “You talk as if Harry would rather have double Potions every day than hug the random bloke beside him in Charms.”</p><p>“You’re not looking closely at what I’m saying, idiot brother of mine.”</p><p>“No, <em> you’re </em>not looking at all, Fred. We humiliate people and strip them of their dignity in the name of ‘harmless mischief typical of teenagers’. On. A daily. Basis. Letting Harry run amok on a wild hugging spree hardly aligns with our philosophies.”</p><p>“As if your idea’s any better. Celestina Warbeck’s songs, really? ‘Sides, if you <em> really </em> wanted to embarrass Harry, you should’ve chosen dancing. <em> That </em> would haunt him even after graduation.”</p><p>This was actually the first time that Fred and George disagreed on something in front of him, and it was weird as hell to see it. The twins tousled and playfully debated about which person to prank and whose fault it was that a prank had gone wrong before, sure, but they never had a <em> legitimate </em> disagreement<em>. </em>Harry was a little uncomfortable with it, like how most people would be a tiny bit uncomfortable if they ever found out that it was mathematically possible to divide by zero. </p><p>Which meant he was <em> loads </em>uncomfortable. Oh god. If that were to happen, computers and machines would probably explode, every mathematical equation may or may not be deemed utter garbage, nothing would matter and both muggles and magical folk alike will fly into a rightful panic and—fucking hell, Hermione’s know-it-all tone better get out of his head soon or Harry was gonna fling himself off Gryffindor Tower.</p><p>Fucking nerds taking over his mind. Although he absolutely refused to think of the <em> other </em>nerd stuck in his head.</p><p>The twins were still bickering, but the poison in their tones hadn’t diluted a single bit. Harry was pretty sure the same couldn’t be said for their focus on the topic. </p><p>“But The Weird Sisters have a terrible fashion sense. I remember they walked up to the stage wearing cyan trench coats last year. With neon green stage lights. That nearly blinded me and Bill, it was an affront to the individual beauty of cyan and neon green.”</p><p>“Warbeck’s not much better, she bathes herself in gold and glitter, then has the audacity to wonder why no one’s looking at her straight when she sings during shows.”</p><p>“Y-you take that back!”</p><p>Harry stomped his worn shoe (lightly, but he would never admit showing mercy to his idiot teammates who could and would take advantage of any bleeding heart) on each twins’ nearby foot. “Hey, can we get back to the matter at hand? I’m scheduled for another devastating loss in a chess match with Ron today.”</p><p>“Well, at least you’re smart enough to know you’re dumb.” the twins deadpanned. Even their diction was on point and exact replicas of each other. They totally stopped walking. </p><p>“What if we—”</p><p>“—but perhaps we could tweak it a bit—”</p><p>“—then how ‘bout we—”</p><p>“—yes, yes, that seems like the perfect solution—”</p><p>“—good on us for coming up with it.”</p><p>“Harry,” The twins spun to look down at him. Harry’s head was spinning from the aggressive tennis match the twins were having that Harry could only see a third of. “You pick your consequence—”</p><p>“Will it be singing <em> and </em>dancing Celestina Warbeck’s latest hits in the middle of the Great Hall?”</p><p>“Or will it be being coerced into embracing a couple of random people, of <em> our </em> choosing?”</p><p>Harry opened his mouth to tell the twins to go shove it, but Fred spoke over him. “Choose, or we’ll do the honors of choosing for you.” Aw, well fuck that last bit. </p><p>Well, if he really had no choice, hugging a few random people <em> did </em>sound like the less damning decision. Therefore, Harry could conclude that there was probably some sort of catch to that and if he went with it, he’d be wishing he sold his soul to the devil instead. </p><p>“When you say people, you mean students right? Current Hogwarts students that I know and have talked to at least once?” Harry asked suspiciously. Even if it was probably the more dangerous choice because it didn’t seem like it was (Harry was an expert on how the twins worked, thank you very much) the idea of making a fool out of himself in the Great Hall while Snape was watching would probably end in his demise or some shit. Or at least a shit ton of detentions, which would also eventually lead to his death by mental scarring. </p><p>Fred and George exchanged a look that Harry, for the life of him, couldn’t interpret. Harry couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had only succeeded in sinking into deeper trouble. “But of course, Ickle Harrykins!”</p><p>“We’re pranksters, not people who go around promoting the molestation of our Quidditch Captain and our pseudo little brother.”</p><p>“Think better of us, Harrykins!” George pouted. Harry swatted his stomach, the closest place he could reach with his hand. </p><p>“Hmm, could you explain the second bit a tad more? But for fuck’s sake, is this actually about the past few Quidditch practices?” Harry exasperatedly complained.</p><p>“Who knows?” Well, Harry didn’t really expect an answer, let alone an honest one. The twins didn’t really need a reason to make someone’s life a living hell, and Harry had given them at least twenty already.</p><p>“We can give you any number of people to hug, <em> however, </em>” George stressed when he saw the look on Harry’s face. “It’d only be for three days.”</p><p>“And you get to say no when we ask, but we have to pick another person to replace the one you said no to.” Fred hurriedly added after he snapped from where he was glancing thoughtfully at his twin. </p><p>Harry wasn’t averse to physical shows of affection, he was actually pretty chill about it. He wasn’t used to it, sure, but it didn’t mean he hated it or anything. But, still. He scoffed. "That's got to be the most ridiculous thing you've ever come up with."</p><p>"So you'd prefer the Celestina Warbeck one?" They leaned closer in unison. Harry grimaced.</p><p>Harry still didn’t trust the twins. Those two were the sneakiest Gryffindors he’d ever met and Harry didn’t know what it was, but something was definitely up. They’d probably just keep choosing worse people for him to hug if he kept rejecting their picks, and if Harry really didn’t comply, well, a prank war against him before the match with the Puffs would leave him with no allies from his Quidditch team. They’d probably jump at the chance to charm his food into throwing itself on Harry’s face.</p><p>Alright. Considering that he may be playing right into the hands of the Weasley twins, Harry needed to think about it clearly for a moment. The twins were suddenly feeling very generous and giving him <em>choices </em>on which evil he'd prefer to go through, but maybe they were aiming for his embarrassment? That seemed like a possible explanation.</p><p>And, okay, that moment of thinking has now passed. Harry decided that he was too tired to deal with people as tiring to keep up with as the twins, and the sooner these three days were up, the sooner the twins would get bored and torture some other poor, unfortunate soul.</p><p>“Alright. Let's say I <em>do </em>end up going with the second option—”</p><p>“Alright then!” George said very loudly, the twins releasing him so abruptly that Harry almost tripped and fell on his arse. Fred’s quick hand steadied him; he was always the quicker twin while George was the steadier one. </p><p>Wow, Harry <em> really </em>had spent too much time observing the shit out of his teammates to think of good Quidditch training programs. It was maybe Colin Creevey creepy, and it may even be closer to the phenomenal Oliver Wood level. </p><p>"Let's check if your hugs are on a publically acceptable level." Okay, what the hell was <em>that </em>supposed to mean? Was Fred picking a fight with him? "Go try on Georgie, now."</p><p>He was pulled out of his thoughts by Fred unceremoniously shoving him forward towards George, and he sighed, wondering why the twins were so obsessed with hugging as he wrapped his arms around George’s middle.</p><p>Huh. It actually felt quite nice. George was pretty warm, and he was ruffling Harry’s hair a little roughly but aside from that, it was something Harry didn't actually mind doing. But no way in hell was he going to admit that, or he might end up belting Warbeck's songs after all.</p><p>He hugged Fred and the other twin patted him on the back. When he pulled away, Fred and George were grinning and comically stepping away from the scene like cartoon characters they were. “Well, we really must be going now, Harry.”</p><p>“After all, we have much mischief to get up to!” </p><p>“But we will return to exact your punishment!” cackled Fred and George, right before they started sprinting away and exploding into ominously boisterous laughter. Harry slowly blinked, wondering what the hell just happened. </p><p>“Does that happen often?” </p><p>Harry jumped a little at the new intrusion, but relaxed when he was greeted with Tom’s familiar gaze. “Oh yeah, twins are batshit crazy. Word of advice, <em> don’t </em>dock points from them for running around because you’ll end up getting pranked senseless. They’ll win all their lost points and then some in Charms and Transfiguration, anyway.”</p><p>“No, no, the—” he cut himself off, before sighing and folding his arms behind his back. <em> Like the stuck-up Prefect he is, </em>Harry snickered in his head. “Never mind. And I am not so foolish as to believe taking points from them would do me any good.”</p><p>“There’s the Slytherin self-preservation I never had.” </p><p>Tom raised his eyebrows in amusement. “You don’t say,” he remarked drily, before leisurely continuing his walk down the hallway. “What are you doing so near the Slytherin dungeon, anyway?”</p><p>“The Slythe—uh,” coughed Harry. A part of his head registered that he had casually moved to walk beside Tom, even if he had no idea where Tom was going. Being the one nearer to the wall, he ran his hand along a soft-looking tapestry as he followed him. “I was actually gonna go head up to Gryffindor Tower, but the twins caught me and toured me around the castle.” </p><p>“You are remarkably close to the Weasleys.” </p><p>Harry scratched his head. “Yeah, I sometimes visit their place during the summer with Hermione. They’re like the family I never had, to be honest.”</p><p>“I beg your pardon?”</p><p><em> Whoops. </em> “A-ah,” Harry stumbled on his words. <em> Shit, wait, that just came out. </em> “I don’t really get along well with my relatives, but they’re okay, I guess.” Harry shrugged. “They think magic’s a pile of dung and aren’t exactly thrilled that I’m studying it.” <em> To say the least.  </em></p><p>“Ah, that I can understand,” Tom offered, pausing for a bit and turning to look ahead. Harry tilted his head to try and meet his eyes, but he seemed like he was thinking about something. Like a little too intensely. “The muggles at the orphanage aren’t the best either.” </p><p>Harry crashed into a suit of armor. </p><p>Startled, he flailed his arms trying to steady his own body and the (frankly ugly) decorative piece before they both wobble too much and fall with a loud clang. </p><p>“Harry, are you alright?” Tom was approaching him, his hand outstretched. Harry didn’t buy that look of perfect concern, though, the guy was obviously trying to hide his smirk of amusement.</p><p>“Peachy, thanks.” he scowled at Tom. He swatted Tom’s hand away. “I’m fine, Mr. Prefect. Actually, I should prolly get going, considering this was the way to the Slytherin Common Room.”</p><p>Tom stared at his own palm before slowly putting it down. “Yes, of course. Well, I shall see you in Potions tomorrow.” </p><p>Harry blanched. “You better be my partner for that class if you don’t want an explosion to happen.”</p><p>Tom gave him another smirk, and Harry wondered if hugging Tom would feel a lot like the hug from George.</p><p>Probably not. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Harry, Harry. Harry! Harry Harry Harryharry,<em> Haaaarryyyyy </em>—”</p><p>“Shut up, guys. What is it?” </p><p>“Hug Ginny next.”</p><p>“... fine.”</p><p>By half of the first day, the whole of Gryffindor House already knew that Harry was the twins’ latest victim. He had hugged people like Anthony Goldstein, Lee Jordan, practically every boy in the dorm at least twice now, and was thankfully not forced to hug girls other than Ginny, Hermione, Katie and Angelina. Well, there was also Luna, and Hannah Abbot now that Harry remembered, but Harry was pretty okay with them, too. He’d sooner hug Malfoy than he’d hug girls he wasn’t close to, like, Merlin forbid, Cho Chang. He’d probably get slapped.</p><p>Ginny grinned at him and returned Harry’s awkward attempt with a fierce embrace. “You’re so lame.”</p><p>“Shut up and enjoy my free hug.”</p><p>“You’re a stick, Harrybear. You think I’m enjoying this?”</p><p>Harry glared at her and shoved her playfully, but laughed too when Ginny did. The hugging thing wasn’t all that bad, really, it was just a little embarrassing sometimes. He especially liked hugging Hermione and the Weasleys.</p><p>Ron was definitely one of those blokes who didn’t hug other blokes, but he had patted Harry’s back in a way that was very similar to Fred and didn’t mind it much after the first time. Hermione, strangely enough, was pretty enthusiastic. She had beamed at him before throwing herself at him and squeezing so tightly that Harry was pretty sure she’d squeezed a couple of years off of his life too. </p><p>The twins made him hug people in completely weird places. When they coincidentally saw each other in between classes, during mealtimes in the Great Hall, hell, Harry kind of almost believed that they were stalking him. Thankfully, the twins didn’t order him to hug people constantly during Quidditch practice. He would definitely get socked if he covered Ginny with sweat and dirt. </p><p>Harry still questioned what the hell the Weasley twins were getting from this, because out of all the things that they could've done, this should have never been on their list. He could see its uses if he gave merit to the idea that he was perhaps some sort of experiment or bet between them. And yeah, alright he had even questioned if he could get away with hugging Tom and pinning the blame on them. He was the only friend that Harry had yet to hug, after all. But no, he had never seen Tom even touch anyone willingly before, a hug was definitely out of the question. He’d probably hate Harry’s hugs, so the twins were probably smart in not including him.</p><p>Still, though, it would be nice to know how it felt to hug Tom, seeing as they had grown a little closer whenever they sat beside each other in class. </p><p>“Harry, come here and give your most stunning older brothers a hug!”</p><p>Harry pretended to cringe. “You guys don’t have to be so creepy about it.” </p><p>He still went over to the twins anyway.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Tom was certain that he was slowly descending into madness. </p><p>He was sitting beside Harry in Professor Merrythought’s class, but couldn’t for the life of him focus on the lecture. It wasn’t a big problem, though, because Tom already knew more about pixies than anyone else in the classroom, save for Merrythought herself. Although it was unlike him to pay very little attention to one of his more favorite subjects, it was actually very like him to think about Harry instead of the things he should really be focusing on instead.</p><p>He subtly eyed Harry out of the corner of his eye, and balked when he saw the Gryffindor listening with his chin on one hand and scrawling notes on his textbook with the other. <em> Directly </em>on his textbook. His eye twitched, and he yearned for nothing more than to flick Harry’s hand to prevent him from defiling the book further.</p><p>There was a still a more significant part of him that yearned to do something far different, though. </p><p>For the past few days, Harry had been rather… touchy with other people. He couldn’t go three hours without spotting Harry, with his irritating mop of hair and that big doltish smile on his face, encase one of his friends in a warm-looking embrace. Tom was sure that he hadn’t seen Harry be this affectionate in all his years in Hogwarts, and for some reason, seeing him go out of his way to shower his fondness on his friends made him feel ill. </p><p>Tom didn't necessarily <em>want </em>Harry's hugs, but it just made little to no sense to him. Was his relationship with Harry really so underdeveloped that he couldn't show the same physical displays of affection to him? It was illogical. Merlin, on the first two days of Harry’s strange behavior, he hadn’t thought much of it and instead wondered when Harry was going to try and hug <em>him. </em>But no, Harry had continued his ridiculous mission to approach every other person he could besides Tom. He had even waved Tom’s touch away directly after welcoming the Weasley twins’ so casually.</p><p>But what <em> really </em> made Tom so unexplainably incensed was when he saw Harry hug <em> Zabini </em>after having what Zabini swore was a casual conversation on Tom and Harry’s mock duel. </p><p>Tom still hexed his hair into an unflattering shade of Weasley red. </p><p>Tom clenched his jaw. He had been sitting beside Harry in most of their classes together for a few weeks now, although he made sure to keep his distance sometimes. He had engaged in conversation with the green-eyed Gryffindor and had even exchanged a few sarcastic quips with him. He and Harry were friends without question. </p><p>
  <em> So, why wouldn’t he…? </em>
</p><p>The bell rang.</p><p>“And that is all for today. Please remember to read the next chapter, as we will be tackling Ghouls in our next meeting. You are all dismissed.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Look, George, it’s him.”</p><p>“Aye, that is Tom Marvolo Riddle, indeed, fifth year Slytherin Prefect.”</p><p>“Stuffy git. What shall we do with him?”</p><p>“Dunno, Fred. Let’s follow him around first and gather some clues.”</p><p>“May I help you?” Tom spun around to face the Weasley twins who had jumped from where they were whispering behind him,<em> right in his ear, </em> to a more casual distance and Circe, were they <em> whistling?  </em></p><p>“Fred, I think the target suspects us!” one of them hissed, and Tom wasn’t actually sure if it was George Weasley or not. The two found joy in baffling the masses, one particular thing about them that Tom could sympathize with. He wouldn't be surprised if they were switching each other up to confuse him further.</p><p>“Act casually. Pretend you don’t know anything.”</p><p>Tom was torn between being amused and wanting to blast them into pieces right then and there. If he hadn’t been their latest game, he would have definitely settled for being amused. </p><p>“What is it, Weasley...s?” Tom in his irritation, almost tripped up in addressing them. </p><p>“Red alert, red alert, the target is talking to us! What do we do?”</p><p>“Shh! Just ignore him, there’s no way he could possibly tell that we know anything about Harry.”</p><p>Tom’s eyes widened. “What, what about Harry? Weasleys!” he barked, advancing on the pair of demons and itching to bring out his wand. “Explain yourselves.”</p><p>“Retreat, retreat! The target is initiating contact.”</p><p>“To our secret hideout we go!” One of them pulled in the other to their “secret hideout”, which was just the nearest unused classroom. Lunch had most probably begun, and here was Tom seething and practically <em> burning </em>to find out what the twins knew about Harry, but none too gently reminding himself of the fact that he had a reputation to uphold. Was he willing to fall into a trap so obviously laid out right in front of him for even a smidgen of information? Was he willing to gamble away his short-term dignity, was he willing to indulge the Weasleys in their ploy to get a rise out of him, just for an answer to a question he didn’t even know?</p><p>Tom thought <em> not.  </em></p><p>Tom <em>thought </em>not. </p><p>He entered the classroom with his hand wrapped around his undrawn wand. </p><p>“Wonderful of you—”</p><p>“—to join us here, Riddle.”</p><p>“We honestly didn’t expect you to follow us—”</p><p>“—but then again, we actually one hundred percent expected you to—”</p><p>“—and it’s all because of Ickle Harrykins.” Tom would’ve been fascinated with the way the Weasley twins were so synchronized with each other, if they hadn’t used their magical connection to squeeze him in between them in perfect unison. He scowled in distaste.</p><p>He would’ve wondered how the twins even knew about his interest, but then again, Zabini had reminded him time and time again that whenever Harry ended up in the mix, his abnormally large brain would “fry itself into a state of utter ridiculousness.” </p><p>Of course, Zabini had been properly hexed each time he dared make those bold insinuations of his. </p><p>“Could we please get to the point? I would hope that we would all have the chance to properly enjoy our lunches today."</p><p>“Ooh, an impatient one, isn’t he?” </p><p>“Then again, Harrykins isn’t one to be kept waiting forever, too, if you know what I mean.”</p><p>“Oh, I <em> definitely </em>know what you mean, George. I don’t think Riddle here understands, although that’s to be expected.”</p><p>“Harry is a rather dense human being, throw him in a lake headfirst and I bet he’d sink all the way down the bottom.”</p><p>“Oh, I really do pity Riddle. He has no idea—”</p><p>“—that the reason why Harry’s been so <em> adorable </em>with all his other friends—”</p><p>“—is all because of us and that silly little threat of a prank war.”</p><p>Tom, quickly learning that he would be able to get the details if he stopped trying to talk over the twins, closed his mouth and chose to listen intently instead. He didn’t like that he clearly had no control over the conversation, and that the Weasleys were practically playing with him, but at least they made it so painfully obvious that they weren’t taking this seriously. Tom wasn’t even angry anymore. Well, on a more positive note, at least he wasn’t pranked on entry. </p><p>“D’ya think that maybe we should ask him if he wants us—”</p><p>“—the devastatingly handsome and clever Weasley devils—”</p><p>“—to order the lovely Potter heir to give him a hug too?”</p><p>Tom had already finished putting the puzzle pieces together by the time the twins stopped talking, but he didn’t like the picture that stared back at him in the face. He concluded that the Weasley twins had tricked Harry to try and make Tom aware of something, to evoke a reaction out of him.</p><p>Or, to make Tom simply jealous. But no, Tom wasn’t some tall, dark and handsome character in one of those sappy romance novels. And another factor to consider was while the twins were as idiotically brave and as loud as the next Gryffindor, they were also unfortunately right about calling themselves smart. No, this was too elaborate of a plan for the reward of seeing Tom Riddle blow a fuse or two. </p><p>Sure, Tom had been drowning in these familiar—yet so unfamiliar—feelings for days, and had to stop himself from making a spectacle out of himself and hissing at Harry to <em> pay attention to him too, Morgana help him, </em> but Tom was no child. He would’ve never allowed himself to act so… primitively. Or to throw a fit comparable to one of Draco Malfoy’s dramatic tantrums. It was already annoying enough that the Weasley twins were close to actually inspiring a reaction out of him, and they were embarrassingly on the right track. He once again had to clamp down his urge to throw a hex or two, because <em>no, </em>as Zabini had so expressively pointed out on multiple occasions, throwing hexes around was not a proper solution for most things.</p><p>And for heaven’s sake, were they really asking him if he was willing to beg them to allow Harry to give him a hug? There were at least four things wrong with that entire sentence alone, but damn, they knew where to push. Tom was tempted to play along, but pulled out of their light grasp instead.</p><p>He was admittedly a little out of his depth. He only knew possibly half of what was really going on, so he decided to try and limit what he fed to the mischievous pair. “Thank you, but I am afraid I must decline.” He replied smoothly, releasing his hold on the wand in his robe pocket. “In an ideal situation, it would only be Harry who gets to decide on whether he wants to interact with me or not.”</p><p>Ah, Tom raised his eyebrows as the Weasley twins exchanged a certain look. Even to Tom, who hadn’t spoken two sentences to the older students prior to this encounter, knew that it was a very meaningful look. It was perhaps something he said, but Tom was unsure of what had triggered a reaction like that. </p><p>Then they turned to look at him. The first thing that Tom wondered was where to look, because he didn’t have two pairs of eyes to make direct eye contact with them <em> both.  </em></p><p>The second thing that Tom wondered was why the twins were so invested in getting a rise out of him through Harry, but Morgana, they were the Weasley twins. They feed off of the chaos they create. </p><p>“My, my, what a surprise,” the twins chorused, their grins growing impossibly wide on their faces. “Riddle has rejected our kind offer.”</p><p>“Which expires today at dinner, I’m afraid,” sighed one of them. Tom’s keen eye noticed a minuscule mole on his neck that the other twin didn’t possess. </p><p>“Who should we ask Harry to hug next, dear George?”</p><p>“Perhaps we should ask Harry to hug the person he’d wanted to hug most all this time. Riddle here had seemed so keen on getting Harry’s input.” Interesting, the twins were talking in that strange way again, yet they were tilting their heads and studying him like he was the most fascinating thing in the world. Which was mildly flattering, but more parts unsettling. </p><p>“Wonderful idea. Let’s go see him at once, actually.” </p><p>The Weasley twins then made their exit, but when Tom had swiftly followed, they had already disappeared. </p><p>It was only during dinner time when Tom caught sight of the Weasley twins once again. They seemed to be acting peculiarly… normal, stuffing themselves with the delightfully warm mashed potatoes and cracking jokes with their mouths full. </p><p>“Tom.”</p><p>“I’m not in the mood, Draco,” he murmured softly, eyes scanning the Gryffindor table to catch a glimpse of wild, uncombed hair. “Go bother Nott or Zabini.”</p><p>“Tom.” </p><p>He simply ignored the blonde boy, and when he couldn’t spot Harry in the sea of red and gold, directed his attention to the open book in front of him instead. His Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook was already a hundred times more interesting than whatever Malfoy could say. </p><p>“Tom, <em> Tom!” </em>He sighed irritably, looking up to glower at the blonde boy.</p><p>“Draco, I said I’m—”</p><p>“For fuck’s sake, Tom, I’ve been trying to fucking warn you about—”</p><p>Tom felt two tentative tugs on his sleeve, tugs that definitely did not come from Draco. “Tom?”</p><p>Before he could turn around, two arms enveloped him in a shaky embrace. Tom froze at the foreign feeling, and was therefore unable to react. In fact, he felt absolutely paralyzed and he even entertained the idea of the Weasley twins casting some sort of undetectable curse at him, but that notion was put aside very quickly when he felt Harry’s arms start to break away. </p><p>Of course it was Harry. Who else could it have been?</p><p>With reflexes almost as lightning fast as they had been in his duel with Harry, Tom had grabbed Harry’s hands and held them in place, turning a deaf ear to Harry’s surprised yelp behind him. A pity he couldn't see his face, Tom mused. Embarrassment painted a rather fetching shade of red. </p><p>
  <em> “Perhaps we should ask Harry to hug the person he’d wanted to hug most all this time.” </em>
</p><p>“So, what were you saying, Draco?” Tom smirked, enjoying the utterly gobsmacked look on the normally cool and composed Malfoy. From the corner of his eye, he could see the Weasley twins cackling and giving each other an amused high five.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>"I didn't think he'd actually say no, Fred. Wicked. The guy is totally whipped."</p><p>"But he said no for all the right reasons. We underestimated him greatly, I think Mum would love him."</p><p>"I bet five galleons that Tom would come to The Burrow for Christmas next year."</p><p>"I'm betting on this summer. Prepare to lose, Georgie." </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, what do you guys think? Do you think it deserves a passing score *sweat drops* </p><p>Okay, back to the announcements for those who'd like more updates on the series!</p><p>4. Good news, the sixth installment is finished and entirely Tom-centric! *cheers* I'll still make minor adjustments, depends if this fic stays or not (the sixth installment was finished before I finished this fic) but it's done. The prequel is most probably the seventh installment, but may end up being the last one if my brain can't handle making sure I've got all my bases covered. It's actually pretty hard for my brain to link oneshots together oops. </p><p>5. Drum roll please, I'm working on ANOTHER SERIES! :D It's set in the medieval era, where Harry is basically a sort of powerful as heck mercenary called a witcher (to those who know what a witcher is, it's only VERY LIGHTLY based on The Witcher, like literally Harry is gonna be the only character with any significant references to the game/book/show, so you don't need to know anything about The Witcher to read it) and Tom is a sorcerer who Harry needs assistance from very, very often. They become travel partners and, and, AND I'm going to attempt to write Tom in a slightly different way. *grins* But that's all I can say from now since I've only written 2k words, and I'm still deciding if it should be one long fic or cut up into pieces like this series. If any of you have any thoughts about it, please let me know!</p><p>I've talked waaaay too much, but I hope you enjoy reading! Stay safe everyone! :3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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